Code Vampire
by lordlee2
Summary: Discontinued
1. The day the vampire was born

Author's Note: I don't know where I came up with this. I don't expect it to be liked. But I'm going to do it. If you read it, please review it. I beg of you.

_

* * *

__How did I get into this situation?_ Lelouch mused in the wreckage of the terrorist's vehicle below Shinjuku ghetto. _Well no sense sticking around. I need to find a way out of here. _The exiled prince stood up and started off, when he was hit in the head by a flying spin kick.

"In the name of his highness Charles Di Britannia you are under arrest terrorist!" The soldier said, pinning down Lelouch.

"Who are you calling a terrorist?" Lelouch said while attempting (and failing) to get the soldier off of him by force.

"Lelouch?" The soldier stood up and removed his helmet.

"Suzaku? Why are you in the military?"

"And why are you helping-"

"I'm not; I just got dragged into it while trying to be a good citizen."

"Please, you're too cynical for that sort of thing."

"Well I won't be doing it anytime soon." Lelouch started to say, but was interrupted by the capsule starting to activate and Suzaku tackling him to stop him from breathing in gas. When the capsule opened however, a heavily restrained girl was inside, not poison gas. Lelouch freed himself from his friends grasp. "That's not poison gas. Were you told anything about this Suzaku?"

"No, they just told us that terrorists had stolen some experimental chemical weapons and were planning an attack on the Tokyo settlement."

"Great. Some secret military test subject then."

"So it would seem. Let's get her out of here at least."

"And we should do that because?"

"Because it's the right thing of course." Suzaku said.

"Right, I would hate to have a sane reason for doing something."

"Like I said, too cynical to be a good citizen." Suzaku said, grabbing her by the legs.

"I'd rather be cynical than so idealistic I can be called suicidal." Lelouch said, grabbing the other end. The two lifted her out of the truck and set her down outside, where Suzaku undid her restraints. They were then interrupted by the Royal Guard.

"Well, well, a mere Eleven dares poke his nose into military secrets eh Private Kururugi?" The leader of the group said. "Well I suppose we could let you off given your impressive combat record. But you do need to shoot that student over there. He's seen too much to live."

"You want me to shoot a civilian?" Suzaku said, stunned. Lelouch was running through scenarios in his head, trying to figure out how to escape. He noticed the girl was conscious now.

"Did I stutter soldier?" The guardsmen inquired.

"…I'm sorry sir I can't shoot a civilian, much less my best friend." Suzaku stated firmly.

"Then die." The man promptly shot him. "Now student, I think it's time for you to join your eleven friend." He turned his gun on Lelouch. And that's when Nagata blew up the truck. The tunnel collapsed, and the rubble separated the royal guardsmen from Lelouch and the girl. The two ran off down a side tunnel.

--

"It's because of you right?" Lelouch said to the girl, sitting down somewhere down the tunnel path. "You're some pet project of Clovis' and he doesn't want word of you getting out. That's why they killed Suzaku and created the poison gas story."

"…Yes." The girl responded.

"I see. Any chance of you telling me what you are exactly?"

"…There's a good chance I suppose. But I'm not telling you at this moment."

"…Annoying woman. Let's just get out of here." Lelouch stood up and continued down the passage to the stairs, followed by the girl.

"There's no sign of them here captain." A voice above said, causing both to stop.

"Fine, let's check the next building." Another, belonging to the leader of Clovis' guardsmen said. They were about to leave when Lelouch's phone rang. The student silenced it, but not fast enough. A moment later the girl was being held by two guardsmen and he was thrown against the wall. "I must commend you boy, you've done quite well for a student. But that makes sense; after all, you are a Britannian. But it ends here." The man raised his gun and tried to shoot Lelouch. The woman escape her captors and jumped in the line of fire.

"He mustn't die!" She screamed before the bullet hit her forehead. She promptly collapsed to the ground. Lelouch was stunned by this action.

"How unfortunate. We were told to bring the girl back alive, but I suppose we'll have to just tell Prince Clovis and General Bartley that the terrorists had already finished them off.

_Again. I failed to protect someone again. Mother, Nunally, Suzaku, even this girl. I can't-_ The girl's hand suddenly grabbed his own, and various images flashed through his head. The girl's voice rang out through it.

_You don't want it to end like this do you? Young one…You seem to have a reason you need to continue to live…. This is the contract, I'll give you power. In return, you must grant my one wish. Once the contract is created, you will have a different fate, a different time, and a different life. The power I give you will separate you from humanity. Can you take this power, and still not go mad?_

_...Fine, I'll take your contract. Now witch, grant me this power of yours!_ The visions stopped, and he stood up and started laughing, but kept his eyes closed

"What's wrong boy? Has your imminent death driven you mad?" The captain asked.

"What about you? Why don't you fire? I'm just a student, it would be easy. Or have you realized, that the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed?"

"What are you talking about boy?"

"So you can't even understand such a simple concept…" Lelouch opened his eyes. "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you, DIE!"

"Wha-"The commander started to say. Then he and the rest of the men got insane grins on their face and raised their guns to their head. "YES MY LORD!" They said in unison before shooting themselves in the head.

Lelouch stood over their corpses, silently. As the girl behind him stood up, a crazed grin formed on his face. "This power you gave me… it's excellent. With this I can certainly have my revenge."

"What you just used is your unique ability. Each Knight class has one."

"Knight class?" The boy said, turning around to face her.

"Knights are the middle of the three vampire classes."

"Vampires?" He laughed. "So you become a vampire by making deals with strange women? That's far less dramatic than neck biting."

"Only knights are made through contracts. Pawns are created when a knight bites a human."

"And you?"

"…Queen class, though there's also a king class, the only difference is gender. I don't feel like explaining that at the moment. But I suppose I should tell you about the other two. I can't have you thinking you're immortal and getting gunned down by a knightmare."

"I'd normally be offended by that remark, but I can't pretend to be an expert on vampires so go ahead."

"Only King and Queen class vampires can create knights. Each knight has a unique ability called Geass. All that human nonsense about the sun and garlic isn't true. Knight class vampires are just as mortal as humans, except their lifespan can go up to about 300 years and you can't become ill, though neither can the other two classes. Knights are also the only ones that need blood. About once a week from what I recall, though I think blood transfusions also work. Feeding either creates a Pawn class or kills the human, depending on if they are killed in the 30 seconds it takes for them to transform into a Pawn. No class sleeps or needs to eat or drink aside from the Knights needing blood. Pawns live as long as their creator Knight, no more, no less. They are subject to their creators whims and will do whatever they must to please him or her. All three classes have wings they can sprout or hide at will. Pawns have superhuman speed and power. Knights have their Geass and wings, but can't exceed human levels of physical power."

"And let me guess, Kings and Queens are immortal but have neither Geass nor superhuman abilities?"

"...Smart boy. We can create Knights, have wings, and are immortal, but that's it."

"I suppose you can't control your Knights either?" Lelouch asked.

"…No, we can't."

"What's your name woman?" Lelouch said as he prepared to leave the abandoned warehouse.

"C.C." She said simply.

"That's not a-" Lelouch was interrupted as a Knightmare entered.

"What are you two Britannian kids doing here, and why are the royal guardsmen dead?" A voice shouted on the frame's intercom. "Answer!" The pilot fired some warning shots over their head.

"My name is Reyson Serenes, this is my sister Leanne. We're the children of a duke. I've got my ID in my breast pocket." Lelouch said calmly. A woman exited the frame, and kept a handgun trained on Lelouch. She was about to say something, but the boy cut her off. "Hand over your Knightmare." He ordered.

"Yes." She held out the key and told him the unit number and password.

"Very good." He got on the foot elevator. "I suppose I'll take C.C as an answer for now. Anyway can you escape on your own?" He asked, as she walked towards the door.

"Yes, if I keep to the back alleys I should be able to get to a point where I can fly off without being spotted. You can do the same you know."

"Of course, but Clovis is probably around looking for you. That's an opportunity I can't waste." He activated the foot elevator. "Perhaps we'll meet again another time." He entered the knightmare and speed off. C.C. just walked off. Villeta Nu snapped out of her Geass induced trance a few moments after they left, with no idea as to what just happened.

* * *

Author's Note: Well that's the first chapter of my AU fic. It's bad I know, but I felt like I had to write it. C.C. was quite talkative here, but it's for the sake of exposition. And I do intend to make this a harem fic. Please review.


	2. The day the virus began to spread

Author's Note: Things will get much more AU in this chapter. And just for the heck of it, I'll be dropping references to various other series in each chapter (including the last one, where it was a Fire Emblem 9/10 reference) mostly out of boredom.

* * *

Lelouch piloted the stolen Sutherland around a bit, observing the carnage. "Let's see, how should I go about getting to Clovis?" The vampire knight muttered to himself.

"Britannian pigs!" A voice shouted on a knightmare intercom. A Glasgow shot past him, follow by an enemy Sutherland, the pilot of which promptly recruited Lelouch in the chase. Lelouch had a bizarre craving when the pilot first contacted him, a sudden and intense desire to gorge on citrus fruits. Dismissing this thought, Lelouch played with the radio channel and managed to get a hold of the Glasgow.

"Turn and fire on the Sutherland behind you if you want to live." He commanded.

"Who are you? " The pilot, Kallen, started to ask, but figured she was screwed anyway, so obeying the mystery voice couldn't hurt. He turned and fired a Slash Harken at the pursuing Sutherland. She wasn't shocked that it dodged, but she was shocked that it dodged right into a Harken fired by the one behind him, forcing the pilot to eject. "Why did you help me?" She asked.

"I need to get to Clovis. For that I need you terrorists." Lelouch replied frankly. "According to the data in this Sutherland, there is a train passing by in 5 minutes. You all stop it, and the contents are my gift to you. I will contact you again when the time comes." Lelouch drove off.

"Wait! Damn it." Kallen said, rushing off to contact her teammates.

--

The terrorists stopped the train and took the Sutherlands inside. Kallen was about to change out her Glasgow, but was stopped by a message from Lelouch. "Stay in that machine Q1, it suits your piloting style better than a Sutherland."

"Are you sure about this Ogi? This could easily be a trap by the Britannians!" Tamaki pointed out.

"They wouldn't need traps; they could just wipe us out." Ogi said, examining the cockpit of his Sutherland.

"Now, follow my orders and I guarantee your victory!" Lelouch said, moving a pawn on his chessboard from nowhere forward. 20 minutes later, he had collapsed a good portion of Shinjuku Ghetto, destroying most of Clovis' remaining Sutherlands.

_I can't be beaten by a bunch of mere Eleven terrorists!_ Clovis thought, horrified. "Lloyd! Can your toy destroy them?"

"Of course it can! But please your highness, call it Lancelot." The Earl said with a chuckle.

"Well this is going well." Lelouch said, leaning back in his cockpit. "It's a shame, I though Clovis would put up at least a little bit of a challenge." He got a call from one of the terrorists.

"There's a monster frame here! It looks like some kind of prototype! It just took out three people!"

"Calm down P3. Describe the frame." The vampire said calmly.

"IT'S-"The connection was lost.

"P3! Damn it." Lelouch tried to rally his forces against it, but more and more signals were lost against the frame. Finally it came upon Lelouch. Its attack was blocked by the Glasgow, he thought he saw the pilot eject, but he was to busy escaping to be sure. The white knightmare caught up with Lelouch and heavily damaged his Sutherland. The vampire panicked and fired at a building causing a woman to fall out of it. The pilot of the frame must have been some sort of bleeding heart, because it stopped short of killing him to save the woman. This gave Lelouch a chance to eject.

"My, Schneizel has funded quite a monster. I must commend your skill Lloyd." Clovis La Britannia said.

"No need to thank me, I got some excellent data." The earl replied.

--

The terrorist group had made its way to some refugees who were blaming them for all of this. Tamaki naturally took offense to this and was threatening a man with a gun when Jeremiah and some Britannian soldiers burst in. "Blah Blah Blah, Filthy Elevens." Jeremiah started to say. However he was interrupted by an announcement.

"This is Clovis La Britannia, 3rd Prince of the Empire! Stop the fighting at once! Treat the wounded, Britannian and Eleven!" The announcement ceased and Clovis turned off the broadcasting system. "There, now what would you like me to do next?" He said to a man in the shadows who was pointing a gun at him. "Sing a song? Perhaps be your opponent in chess?"

"That brings back memories." The man said, causing the prince confusion. "We used to play all the time, at the Aries Palace. I would always win of course, that annoyed you."

"Who are you?!" The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself to be Lelouch, to the prince's horror. "Former 11th Prince of the Empire, Son of the late Imperial Consort Marianne, and Former 17th heir to the throne of the Holy Britannian Empire, Lelouch Vi Britannia. I have returned my brother, to change everything."

There was nothing short of Cornelia wearing a dress that could have shocked Clovis more. "Lelouch I had nothing to do with it I swear!"

"Really? We shall see. Lelouch Vi Britannia commands you, heed my questions!" His Geass activated, forcing the 3rd prince to do so. "First things first, did you kill my mother?"

"No." The Geassed man replied.

"Who did?"

"I don't know."

"Who would?"

"Probably our siblings Schneizel or Cornelia." Clovis answered.

This was enough to satisfy Lelouch. He released the Geass.

Clovis went right back to begging for his life. "I didn't do it, please believe me!"

"..I do. But... that does no absolve you of your other sins." He raised his gun to Clovis' head.

"Wait! We may have different mothers but we are still blood!" Clovis pleaded.

Lelouch considered this for a moment. "True. And there are better uses for you anyway." He leaned in and bit Clovis on the neck.

"What?" Clovis said, as he felt some of his life's blood drained away. Lelouch removed his fangs, and Clovis started to twitch as his genetic structure rearranged itself.

"Now listen close. You will put in a request for the Ashford's status to be restored. There will be two people sent to you at around 8:00 tomorrow night. You will take both in. One will have further instructions for you. I'll let you figure out how to treat the other, it shouldn't be hard."

Clovis nodded. "Yes… master."

"You will also not call me that. Ever. To say nothing of the practical issues with it, I just find it very creepy. Call me Lelouch or something. You will also NOT tell anyone that I am alive."

"As you like Lelouch."

"Very good."

--

"So Lelouch you want to go gambling again today?" Rivalz said, following next to his friend.

"You two should really stop that, you're going to get yourselves killed by some crazy noble someday." Shirley said loudly.

"I'll pass Rivalz, I found a new game."

"Anything we could make money off of?"

"Quit corrupting Lulu!" Shirley said to the blue haired boy.

Sensing that this discussion would waste many hours of his time, Lelouch promptly split off from them and headed home. _Nunally is still with Milly, so that means the only one home should be…_

"Welcome back Lelouch-sama." Sayoko said.

"Working hard as always I see." Lelouch said glancing at the clock. _It's 3, that means I've got about 2 hours until Milly hands over Nunally, plenty of time._

"Sayoko-san…" He said closing the front door behind him.

An hour later, Sayoko sat up in the bed. "You are VERY good Lelouch-sama."

"Should I take that as a compliment?" The young man said, running his fingers through her hair, and taking to opportunity to take another sip from her neck.

"As long as you don't go around abusing that talent, then yes." She shuddered a bit as he drank.

He removed his fangs. "Now Sayoko, I have a job offer for you, one that should pay even better than the Ashfords."

"Oh? And what job would that be?"

"Take Nunally to the Area 11 Government headquarters. Clovis should be waiting outside at around 8. I'll give you a letter. Show him that and he'll give you a job without a shadow of a doubt."

"And who is Lelouch-sama exactly to be making such a promise?"

"That will become apparent when you get there."

--

Sayoko walked Nunally along. "Sayoko-san, where exactly are we going?" Nunally asked, clearly nervous.

"Lelouch-sama instructed me to take you to an old acquaintance of yours. We are almost there as of now."

"An acquaintance of ours?" The girl said. "Hmm who could it be?"

"You'll find out now." The maid said turning a corner.

Nunally heard some rapid footsteps, and then had her hand grasped by someone. She felt the hand a bit, and recognized it after a moment. A mixture of joy and confusion filled her when she realized the hand belonged to Clovis La Britannia.

* * *

Author's Note: And that's where I'm ending it for now. First of all let me say this: VAMPIRE SAYOKO! That said, this Lelouch is more willing to use his pimp skills than the canon one. Kallen, Euphemia, Suzaku, and Cornelia will all probably get some spotlight next chapter. Clovis isn't dead, therefore there's no need for an Orange Incident. Jeremiah will still end up Orange-kun though. I knew you were worried.


	3. Lelouch leaves

Lelouch packed a few essentials and left that night. He made only one stop before leaving Ashford Academy altogether. He stopped by the Ashford residence. Not that he went in through the front door. Lelouch flew around the house until he found Milly's window, on the second floor around back. He opened the window and landed on the floor inside, keeping his wings somewhat spread. His entrance disturbed the girl's sleep.

"Lelouch?" She asked rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing here so la-" She stopped talking the moment she noticed the wings. "Lelouch… what are those?"

"A mark of one of the things that separate me from the rest of the world." He replied calmly, as he started to approach her bed. "As you no doubt notice I am no longer altogether human. But, I am still Lelouch. And right now there's something I need you to do Madam President." He stopped in front of her and leaned forward. "I must leave before the sun rises. I do not know when I shall see you again." He touched the trembling girls face.

"And… what would that be?" She managed to ask. Milly Ashford was a strong woman, but right now the man she loved was leaning over her with a pair of great leathery wings sprouting out of his back, she was tired, and deeply confused, and there was only so much a teenage girl could take.

"Be mine for the night." He asked simply, before kissing her.

Milly might have responded, but her thought process pretty much shut down at that point. She kissed back deeply. He removed his lips and moved down. She felt a slight pricking sensation on her neck and felt some blood drained from her, which prompted a few questioning thoughts. _Do I belong to him now? Am I a vampire? Why in the world does having your blood sucked out feel this good?_ She probably would have started questioning vampire stories in general in a series of increasingly silly thoughts after that, but Lelouch did something with his fingers that started what would later be recalled in no more detail than half hour of bliss. She did however recall their conversation after that.

Lelouch sat up and looked at the girl lying naked next to him. "I need you to ask your grandfather something, is that alright?"

"Yes Master Lelouch." She said with a smile.

He slid out of bed and put his clothes on, pulling an envelope out of one of the pockets when he was done. "I must be going, so I need you to give him this, and make sure the contents are what the records state, and what the students and staff believe." He started towards the window.

"Will I see you again Master Lelouch?" Milly asked.

"…I hope so." He spread his wings and flew off.

--

Clovis insisted on not depriving Nunally of further sleep and asked Sayoko to take her straight to her room after greeting her. "Plenty of time to chat tomorrow, I'll be calling Cornelia and Euphemia and we can all talk."

"Clovis nii-sama, what are you and Lelouch nii-sama planning?" The girl asked, halting the maid for a moment.

"Uh that's-"

"Lelouch-sama has ordered his survival to be a secret from the rest of the family. The story is that he had it arranged to send you here upon his death. He is arranging it with the Ashfords so that it will seem that very event took place in the night. Reuben Ashford is an experienced manipulator of money and information, as is Prince Clovis here. By tomorrow, that will be the story all believe." Sayoko stated firmly.

"Why does brother want to make it seem like he's dead?" Nunally asked.

"We're not privy to Lelouch-sama's motives. We are unworthy of such an honor." The maid replied.

"We'll discuss this subject another day Nunally." Clovis said, taking hold of one of her hands. "For now, let's just stick to the story and get you to bed." He said.

Nunally thought for a moment, then nodded.

Sayoko wheeled Nunally off and put Nunally to bed, returning to Clovis a few minutes later. "I have-"

"Instructions right? From our 'master' if I'm not mistaken. Just give them to me I suppose."

--

Cornelia Li Britannia was having tea with her sister that day, when a phone call came from Area 11. "Must be Clovis, probably about some frivolous construction project he's working on."

"We can't all be soldiers my sister." Euphemia said.

"He's just an artist, he's not meant for governance, particularly not of the only area where there's still real armed resistance." The elder sister replied as she turned the video phone on. "That's why I'm getting his job."

Clovis' face appeared on the screen. "Greetings! I have some news that you two will be very excited about!"

"I quite doubt that." Cornelia said, taking a sip from her drink.

"Sister!" Euphemia said in a scolding tone. "Please brother, do share."

"I have found Nunally!" The 3rd prince said with glee.

Both sisters jumped at this statement, Cornelia even dropped her cup. "If you are joking about this Clovis I swear I'll-"

The 3rd prince shifted the camera to one side, revealing Nunally, who promptly chirped, "Good afternoon sisters!"

Euphemia started to cry. "Nunally! You're-" She stopped the waterworks as a thought occurred to her. "Where's Lelouch? You couldn't have lasted this long on your own."

Clovis shifted the camera back to him. "That would be the bad news. They were staying with the Ashfords, but Lelouch died last night. Turns out he had it arranged for Nunally to be sent straight to us should that occur. He also recommended in the letter sent along with her that the Ashfords get their status restored."

"I see…" Euphemia said sadly.

"Nunally, you don't seem too upset over this." Cornelia noted after Clovis returned the camera to its previous position.

"Ah, that's because, even though I have lost my brother, I have also been reunited with all of you. Brother always said he preferred when I was smiling, so that's how I'm going to try and stay." The blind girl replied.

"I see. Clovis, you received word yesterday of your demotion to Sub-Viceroy correct?"

"Uh, yes."

"I'll be arriving in a few days to take the job. If Nunally is in anyway mishandled between now and then I'm carving your throat out." She said before cutting the call.

"That's not how one normally ends a call sister." Euphemia noted.

"We'll be seeing each other in a few days. It's fine."

--

Lelouch was in and street that appeared empty aside from him. Passing under a street light he suddenly said. "You've been following me."

From her perch atop the light, C.C. replied, "Indeed. It's been awhile since I've been out and about. I recalled something while observing you that I had so foolishly forgotten in that time."

"And what's that?" Lelouch asked.

"Humans are so, interesting." She said, before taking a bite of the pizza slice in her hands.


	4. ZERO!

Author's Note: Zaywex gets the credit for noting the reference for last chapter. In answer to your question Zaywex, the relation between Knights and Pawns is first of all, that Pawns will live so long as their creator does. In other words, they cannot be killed directly. Second, Pawns retain their personality, and cannot disobey direct orders. In addition, acts of betrayal cause IMMENSE pain in the process, and can even shatter their minds. Even if that weren't the case, as stated their Knight is a Pawns life incarnate so it's not in their interest to do so anyway. Lelouch actually tells them this offscreen. (the part about dying, he doesn't know the bit about the pain, and the command bit is obvious.)

* * *

Lelouch walked through the ghettos with C.C. "You are quite rude you know? First you turn your brother into a pawn, then your maid, then ship your sister off without telling her, and even manipulated that student."

"First of all, how close were you watching me exactly?"

"You are very good with your hands," was her only response.

"Words cannot express how disturbing that is. Second, recruiting them was all justified. Clovis would gladly live forever due to a combination of cowardice and other reasons I'd just as soon not dwell on. Sayoko is now in a position to actually do something about Japan, so she's content. And Milly very clearly wants to be by my side."

"Aren't you just telling yourself that to justify the fact you are using them as pawns in the same way your father does?"

"…I'm the type who can never stop thinking. And I acknowledge the need to become evil to destroy a greater evil. I can no longer sleep as a vampire, so if I don't constantly justify my actions, I'll drive myself insane."

C.C didn't bother responding to the statement. "Where are we heading?"

"I'M taking a train. You are leaving."

C.C. sighed, "You shouldn't order women around. But I suppose I'll comply this once. But what exactly are you doing before I do?"

"…I saw someone interesting the day I went back to school after Shinjuku. I've arranged an invitation for her, and am going to set a few things up for our meeting."

C.C. smirked and flew off.

--

Cornelia and Euphemia arrived early in the morning in Area 11 two days after the call from Clovis. Following her arrival, she promptly dismissed a good number of Clovis' staff and replaced them with her own entourage. While she gave Clovis a verbal beating over his lack of military progress, Euphemia took Nunally doting duties.

"This garden reminds me of the Aries palace." She said, while fixing her sisters hair.

"Big brother Clovis said that was intentional."

"I didn't think he liked it so much. He and Lelouch always argued."

"I think he considered brother a rival."

"But he was so much younger."

"I think that was probably part of the reason. He didn't like being beaten time and again by his little brother." Euphemia said.

Sayoko approached them with a tea tray. "Clovis-sama requested I bring this to you two." The maid said simply before turning and leaving the sisters to enjoy themselves.She then returned to her room in the servant's quarters. Once inside she closed the door and began composing something, as per the orders she had gotten from Lelouch last contact. When she was done she headed off into the settlement to deliver it.

--

Later, Kallen had been roped by Milly into the student council. A new member was good pick me up for the others after Lelouch's apparent passing and Nunally's return to her family according to Milly. This worked on Rivalz to a degree, mostly due to having a pair of thing to focus on besides the siblings. Not so much for Shirley, who looked dead inside and just kind of shuffled around. Nina's thoughts on the whole thing were a mystery.

"I come back and suddenly the Vice President of the student council dies. Yeah that's a sign that my stay will be more tolerable than I thought." Kallen muttered to herself as she sorted papers in the apparently empty room. "Normally I'd find Britannians feeling misery and pain a good thing, but this is just depressing."

"Oh I agree." A voice said behind her, causing Kallen to jump.

"Who's there?" She went for her purse as she looked behind her.

It was Milly, who continued as though Kallen hadn't said anything. "With the depressing part anyway. But what do you expect? Lelouch was Rivalz's best friend, and to Shirley it's practically the end of the world."

"Where did you come in? I didn't here the door open and shut."

"Window." She pointed to the open one.

"We're on the third floor!"

"And thus my methods remain a mystery. Anyway I'm assuming by your comment about Britannians that you don't consider yourself one. A half blood perhaps?"

Kallen gripped her purse and was debating whether to make Milly disappear or not. "That's not your business."

"Hey don't get aggressive with me." Milly said lightly. "I like knowing people's secrets but I don' t spread them around."

Kallen believed her and removed her hand from the purse. "Seriously though how did you get in here?"

"I already told you, the window. Anyway the reason I came is because a message arrived at the front desk for you." She placed the an envelope in front of Kallen and left, closing the door behind her.

Kallen watch Milly leave, wondering what could have created a strange woman like that. She then opened the letter.

_Come to this location tonight at midnight Q1 and bring your terrorist friends.._ Some directions followed that led to an church in the Tokyo settlement, though Kallen didn't know that part.

The girl was shocked. _The voice from Shinjuku! It has to be!_

--

Ogi, Kallen, and Tamaki had made their way to the church at the requested time. "Can we really trust this guy?" Tamaki asked.

"He's the one who saved us in Shinjuku, I'd say so." Ogi replied.

"I'm more curious as to why he pick a chu-" Kallen started to say, when the sound of an organ began to play. The song was Power Hungry Fool, not that they would know.

"Who's up for leaving?" Tamaki asked, and was dragged in by Kallen in response, with Ogi following in behind.

They were greeted by the sight of a masked figure playing instrument. "You all seem to have avoided being killed by the prototype, the army, or the police. Good."

"So you ARE the one from Shinjuku." Ogi said, glad for the affirmation.

"Why'd you call us here?" Tamaki said, getting right to the point.

"Do you want your country to be free?" The clocked figure questioned.

"Of course that's why we-" Ogi started.

"Terrorism will not affect Britannia in the slightest. It's nothing more than child's pranks in the scheme of things."

"Are you calling us kids?!" Tamaki responded angrily.

"My point being that you are too small scale." The figure replied.

"And are you suggesting that you can change that?" Kallen asked.

"No. I am STATING it."

"I don't suppose you are going to reveal your face?" Ogi inquired.

"No. No I am not."

"…Can you really do it?"

"You say my skill in Shinjuku. And that was with a few terrorists on the spur of the moment."

"I see you lack confidence." Kallen said sarcastically.

"...It's not like we can do better on our own. Lead us. But tell us, what do we call you?"

"I… AM ZERO!"

--

The next morning at the Government Headquarters, Nunally met the purist faction leader Jeremiah Gottwald. He did not know who she was, as her identity was kept secret from all but a privileged few. However during their introduction she suddenly said "Orange." She then said that she wasn't sure why, and that had popped into her head when he started speaking. Euphemia appeared and took her away before any further explanation. Kewell Sorsei, who was also present at the meeting, made certain that this became his nickname forever.

* * *

Author's Note: I know I'm slipping on chapter length. I need to watch the early episode again and get some new material. Next chapter: Euphemia, Suzaku, and Arthur I promise. And some other stuff.


	5. The stage is set

Author's Note: I forgot to say this in the last chapter, but Lelouch lives in that church now. He got it with Geass. Two references in the last chapter, the organ is Phantom of the Opera of course, and the song is from Fire Emblem 9. It may also have been in ten. I don't recall. Also I'm not going to bother with Euphemia and Suzuku's first meeting. I'm officially sticking it as an off-screen event. I'll fill in a bit of what happened though.

* * *

Suzaku Kururugi was doing yet another test for Lloyd and Cecil. Basic stuff, mostly it involved flipping switches and pulling levers. He didn't know what any of it meant, but figured that if Lloyd said it was needed, it must be.

Cornelia entered with Clovis and the younger sisters trailing behind. "So this is the rumored prototype? Earl Lloyd, FRONT AND CENTER!" She shouted.

At this Cecil offhandedly pushed Lloyd off the platform they were on, wherein he landed in front of the royals. "Ah, Princess Cornelia, so glad you could come." The earl said as he got back up. "You'll be wanting to see what my Lancelot can do I assume. "

"Indeed. I've instructed Darlton and Guilford to ready their Gloucesters and wait in the arena."

"A combat demonstration then! Most excellent." The earl replied. "Very well! Cecil, give Suzaku the word will you?"

"Suzaku?" Nunally and Euphemia said at once.

"The Eleven pilot." Cornelia said.

"Oh you aren't going to make a fuss about that are you sister?" Clovis said. "It's Schneizel's pet project and he's given Lloyd full control. Out of our hands."

"That may be but-"

"But nothing. We can't do anything, so there's no reason to fuss." The sub-viceroy said.

The Lancelot was mounted on it's transporter with Suzaku still inside. Thirty minutes later it was ready. Darlton and Guilford were waiting in their frames. Cornelia, Clovis, and Lloyd had taken up seats near the top of the arena. Nunally and Euphemia had gone elsewhere.

"Are you ready Suzaku?" Cecil said preparing for the Lancelot's launch sequence.

"Ah, yes miss Cecil." The pilot responded quietly.

"Well then, Z-01 Lancelot, LAUNCH!" She flipped a switch and the Knightmare frame was released…

--

Lelouch was laying back on one of the benches in the church, looking through some documents, dossiers on the terrorists to be precise. "Excellent work Sayoko."

"It was my pleasure Lelouch-sama." The Pawn woman said, bowing as she did.

"Her performance in Shinjuku, as well as the data here indicates Kallen to be an excellent Knightmare pilot… perhaps she should become one of us…." The Knight mused.

"That girl seems to hate Britannians even more than the rest of them however. It may be dangerous for you in the um… process of turning her."

"That's why if I decide she should join us you will bring her to me, bound up."

"…So Lelouch-sama is into that kind of thing…" Sayoko said quietly.

"Hmm?" Lelouch looked at her.

"Nothing Lelouch-sama." Sayoko said, while in her mind she jumping to conclusions at light speed.

_Strange woman._ Lelouch thought. He then considered the idea of Kallen as Pawn. The idea was tempting in more ways than one. Aside from the minor risk of injury in the turning process by the girl, which was easily taken care of with Sayoko, there wasn't anything that could be bad about it aside from adding another person to the list of people who knew who and what he was.

_And then he's probably going to do this to her, and then that, oh what a harsh task master Lelouch-sama is! And then he'd-_

"Sayoko!" Lelouch said.

The maid snapped out of her reverie. "Ah, yes Lelouch-sama?"

"I think I will have you go get the Stadtfeld girl."

"As you wish Lelouch-sama. Will there be anything else?"

"Yes, find out who is piloting the 7th generation prototype. Also, get all of Clovis' research data. I'm set up here at last, so it's time I get it."

"As you like Lelouch-sama." The maid vanished faster than the eye could follow.

"Now… how should I go about announcing Zero and the Black Knights…?

--

Suzaku was having tea with Euphemia and an ecstatic Nunally.

"I'm so glad you survived, but why join the military?" Nunally asked.

"I was hoping to make things better for the Japanese." Suzaku replied quietly. He was still stuck on the news of Lelouch's death. _He seemed fine during Shinjuku, though I admit I don't know what happened after that. Nunally says he died of illness during the night, so I guess he escaped. Though that's another thing, Nunally's quite happy right now. Given she's reunited with Euphemia, Cornelia, and Clovis I suppose it makes an amount of sense that she wouldn't be hit quite as hard but… _His thoughts were interrupted by a cat biting his leg. "I see you kept him Euphie."

"Did you think I was going to send Arthur back to the street?" Euphemia said, calling the cat to her lap, a call to which it promptly responded.

"Ah, that's not what I meant." Suzaku responded.

Arthur made his way over to Nunally, and designated her lap as his bed.

Elsewhere in the government complex Clovis was speaking with Sayoko. "I'll be sure to have the data ready tomorrow if that's when our 'master' needs it."

"Do not speak of him in such a mocking tone Clovis." The woman replied.

"I'll make not of that. Is there anything else he wanted?"

"The name of the 7th generation prototype's pilot was the other thing he asked of you."

"That I can do at this moment. His name is Suzaku Kururugi; he was supposed to be the son of the last Japanese Prime Minister or something."

"Noted. I shall inform him after I collect the girl."

"Girl? What girl?"

"That is not your concern." Sayoko flew out of a nearby window.

"…In retrospect I should have probably never messed with that green haired woman." The Third Prince said with a sigh. "Now I'm stuck in this vampire mess."

--

Kallen Stadtfeld was getting ready to go to bed. "Zero… he saved us in Shinjuku, but… can we really trust a man who refuses to show his face? And what was up with meeting us a church?" A creaking noise caused Kallen to turn to her window suddenly. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.

A winged woman in a maid costume was standing in her window sill… "Greetings Kallen Stadtfeld, my lord requests your presence."

"What the…" Kallen started to say, but the woman vanished suddenly. A blow landed on Kallen's neck and she fainted promptly.

--

Kallen awoke in the same church from before, not that she knew. This was room in the back which Lelouch used for his personal living quarters, and hence she had not seen it her last visit to the church. She was on a bed, with the maid woman from before standing next to it. On a computer in the corner of the room was a Britannian boy. _What did he said his monster maid to kidnap me so he could do lewd things to me?_ Kallen thought, with considerable disgust.

"She has awoken Lelouch-sama." Sayoko said.

"Good." Lelouch stopped working on his computer and spun his chair toward Kallen. "Tell me Miss Stadtfeld, if you had the chance to live forever, would you take it?"

"Is this some cult or mad science thing? If so is there a possibility of me getting out alive?"

"No, but if it was there wouldn't be such a chance. Just answer the question."

"I suppose. Does this have to do with why I was taken out of my house by a crazy maid with bat wings?" Kallen asked.

"It has everything to do with that." Lelouch produced his own wings. "Would you like to be immortal?"

"Are you going to kill me if I say no?"

"Good question, here's a better one: Why WOULD you say no?"

"The fact you dodged my question does not inspire confidence in the answer." The girl sighed. "Fine, do as you like."

Lelouch snapped his finger and Sayoko pinned Kallen. The Knight then leaned in and nipped her on the neck. She shuddered as he drained her life away. He removed his fangs and sat on the bed, stroking her hair as her genes were changed by it. Lelouch spent the rest of the night playing with his new pawn, with Sayoko aiding in "welcoming her to the fold."

* * *

Author's Notes: And I'll end it here. Sorry for the wait, I couldn't find motivation to write. Also, no reference this chapter.


	6. The Order of the Black Knights

Author's Note: Once again, apologies for the wait. I couldn't find motivation/inspiration/ work ethic to write. As an apology I give you this slightly longer than usual chapter. Read and PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF SCIENCE REVIEW!

* * *

Lelouch led the terrorists into the G1 mobile base. "From now on, all of our meetings and such will take place here." He stated simply.

"This thing is incredible! How did you get it?" One terrorist asked.

"I received it from a nobleman who I have under my control." The vampire replied from beneath the mask of Zero,

"You control nobility?" Ogi inquired.

"I control many people. Who exactly these people are is classified information."

The others were admiring the various features. One of the terrorists was watching the TV. "The JLF interrupted some conference."

Lelouch glanced at the TV. His eyes widened as he saw an image of the hostages. _Shirley, Nina, and Milly are there?_ _Not good. If things get bad Milly might go on a rampage. She can probably beat the terrorists, but there'd be no way for me to cover up the incident…_ He started to create a number of plans in his head, when the newscaster said something.

"Viceroy Cornelia has arrived on the scene and surrounded the hotel, but has yet to make any attempt to assault the hotel."

_Cornelia has yet to make a move? But there's no way she would be stalled by hostages… Unless perhaps… Euphemia were involved…_ He stood up and walked out of the room, then pulled a cell phone from his pocket. Lelouch punched in a number and waited.

"You have an order?" Said the voice on the other line.

"Indeed Sayoko. I need you to ask Clovis something."

"And what might that be?" The maid said, already heading towards the sub-viceroy's office.

"Ask him if Euphemia is at the hotel jacking." The vampire inquired.

"Of course master." The maid entered the office and asked the 3rd prince. "Yes she is."

The Knight grinned. "Continue your regular duties Sayoko." Lelouch hung up and returned to the terrorists, who were still watching the report. "Prepare to move out, we're going to stop the hotel jacking."

--

"So what exactly is guarding that tunnel Darlton?" Cornelia asked her knight.

"It seems to be some kind of turret made of Glasgows. Whatever the case, it just destroyed a group of Sutherlands in one shot." The old soldier answered.

"And all other routes have proven useless as well. The good news is they don't know that Princess Euphemia doesn't seem to have been discovered yet. She was only an observer so she wouldn't be on the list of those attending." Guilford added.

Cornelia started to say something when a soldier ran up to her. "Your highness, someone is approaching the hotel gates from the east!"

Elsewhere Diethard was approached by one of his workers. "Van 3 was taken by a masked man?"

"Johnson said he was approached by the guy and then he and his crew blacked out!"

Said masked man was standing on top of the vehicle which now approached the gates, and by extension Cornelia and her entourage. "An excellent greeting Viceroy, I didn't think you'd meet me personally." The man said.

"Who the hell are you?" She promptly questioned.

"Call me Zero. I'm the man who can save your little sister." He said calmly.

Cornelia's eyes widened. _How did he know?_

"I see my hypothesis was correct." Zero noted aloud, though it was only for show as he did of course already know that. "You can't get through obviously, and the longer it takes, the greater the chance she will be discovered. But I can get in and save all the hostages. Except the one they are about to throw off the roof." He pointed as he said the last bit.

All eyes turned toward the hotel where a man was thrown from the roof to his death. A broadcasted message announced the intention to throw another off for ever half hour the JLF's demands were not met.

"So Cornelia…" Zero said. "In order to prevent anymore needless death, or even just to stall for time, why not let me pass?"

The Viceroy considered the situation and finally said, "Let him pass!" The soldiers opened the gate, allowing Zero and his group to go through.

"A good choice Viceroy. You won't regret it." Zero said.

Some time later Suzaku broke through the defenses in the Lancelot. He promptly shot into the air and destroyed the hotel's support beam, causing the structure to begin sinking. As he was falling he spotted Zero through the Lancelot's camera. _Who's the guy in the mask? Is he with the JLF? _The pilot wondered.

_The white knightmare from Shinjuku?_ Lelouch thought. He then blew up the hotel.

"Euphie!" Cornelia screamed.

Suzaku landed and charged into the devastation, ignoring Lloyd and Cecil's orders to turn back.

In one of the news vans, Diethard forced one of his men to bring up footage from the stolen camera. _There's no way he stole one of our vehicles by coincidence. He must want to use it for something…_

The smoke around the hotel cleared and Lloyd and Cecil breathed a sigh at the safety of Suzaku and the Lancelot.

Suzaku himself was far less calm. He began to lament his apparent failure to save the hostages, when boats appeared on the lake, most carrying the hostages but the largest carrying Zero and his entourage. It was also at this time that Diethard got his footage.

"Britannians! Fear not. I have saved all the hostages inside the hotel. In my generosity I shall return them to you now." Spotlights on the boat turned on and the camera zoomed out to reveal a group of people flanking Zero. "People of the world! Fear us, and seek us out! I am Zero, and we are the Order of the Black Knights! We Black Knights are allies of all those who are unarmed! Be they Elevens, or Britannians! The cowardly Japanese Liberation Front took Britannian civilians as hostages, and murdered them cruelly. It was a meaningless act. Thus I have punished them."

Diethard was speaking with his crew. "What? Of course keep running this! The responsibility? I'll take it all!

"The Britannian government is the same. The slaughter Numbers and wage war without end. They consider anyone not of their own blood to not be a person. I cannot ignore such atrocities. Thus I shall punish them as well."

_Just another bunch of terrorists then._ Cornelia thought. _This is just about gathering public support. And we can't move against him because he'll just use the hostages to stop us._

"Revolutionaries pretending to be knights." Lloyd noted. "This ought to be interesting."

"I do not refuse to fight." Zero continued. "However I grow sick of the strong bullying the weak. I refuse to allow it to continue any longer! The only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed! When the powerful attack the powerless, we shall appear again. No matter how powerful the enemy may be. We the Black Knights, SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD!" He finished with a fantastic flip of the cape.

--

Kallen lay in her room, listening to the talk of the demolition and searches for evidence and escape routes at the ruins of the Lake Kawaguchi Hotel Convention Center. _I hate not being able to sleep. _There was a crashing noise outside. _That's as good an excuse as any to be 'woken up' I suppose._ She went outside and saw the maid, her true mother trying to figure out what to do about a broken chandelier.

The maid turned as the girl exited her room. "Young mistress, I'm sorry to have woken you."

"Again?" Kallen said, looking at the broken chandelier.

"Ah yes, this time-"

"Just clean it up." Kallen said with disdain, "I've got to get to school soon."

"You've been going more often these days haven't you mis-" The Japanese woman started to say before her daughter cut her off.

"That's none of your concern!" The girl said before heading back inside her room. _When will that woman leave? Why does she have to cling to this guy's house? He doesn't even come home that often!"_

--

Kallen faced embarrassment in class that day. She drifted off in the middle and started day-dreaming about a Black Knights raid she went on. She ended up standing up and screaming "the Black Knights!" in class.

After class Rivalz, Shirley, and a couple other classmates caught her before she could get away. "It's not like you to fall asleep in class like that Kallen." One girl said, as they had all assumed that one would only do such a thing if they were actually asleep.

"If you'd only come back a little earlier, you could have gotten tips from Lelouch." Rivalz said, trying to cheer himself up with fond memories more than anything. "That guy was a master at sleeping at class."

"Yes Lelou was…" Shirley started, but burst into tears before she could finish. This caused the rest of the group, except for Rivalz who was obviously barred from the comforting session, to leave.

"I should probably just not speak around Shirley until she gets over it." Rivalz noted. "Anyway what do you devote nights too that gets you so sleepy?" Rivalz asked.

"Just staying up to study combined with a frail body mostly." Kallen lied.

--

"The EU is on the offensive on the El Alamein front, so I can't be dealing with these terrorists forever." Cornelia said to Clovis and Euphemia. "I'd like to get these domestic issues out of the way so I can be back on the front lines where I'm really needed, but to do that I need to wipe out all the terrorists organizations so I can leave the rest to you two."

"There's also that refrain mess that I'm fairly sure is being circulated through the ghettos by none other than the nobles and the police." Clovis said. _And there are certainly no vampires running around planning to destroy our entire country. God I hate my life._

"Indeed, it's decreasing productivity." The Viceroy said. "We need to close off the import route to China or else the Elevens will be too busy dreaming of a bygone age to be getting any work done. At any rate, neither of you leave the Tokyo Settlement while I'm gone. It shouldn't take long, just deliver a report and Nunally."

"Sister… about the Black Knights…" Euphemia started to say but was cut off by Cornelia.

"That mad man Zero can run around a little longer, as thanks for saving you. But when I return… there will be no mercy to those vigilante maniacs."

"Why are you so concerned anyway Euphie? That Zero outright said he wants the Britannian government to burn. I shouldn't need to say it but, that includes US." Clovis added.

Euphie recalled her conversation with Zero at the hotel. He mentioned that revealing herself to protect the hostages was evidence that she had not changed. It was like Zero knew her… "It's nothing my brother. Have a safe trip sister."

* * *

Author's note: And that's where I'm stopping. I'll put the great refrain raid and Narita in the next. In case you haven't noticed by now, I tend to gloss over battle scenes. There are two reasons for this. The first is I'm awful at them. The second is they bore me. If you write a review (by which I mean do it or die screaming) please actually comment on particular parts of the plot, instead of just saying good chapter or comment about a lack of facial expressions…


	7. Refrain and the Battle of Narita

Code Vampire

Author's Note of DOOM:

Alright there's a lot to say, so I suppose I'll start by saying that my Beta and I suffered numerous complications while writing this. His computer crashed, I'm a lazy bastard, he writes the battles, I had writer's block, and I started a bunch of other things.

Then of course we have the ending. And what an ending. I for one enjoyed each episode as it came. Yes, even 22 and 23, which got most people screaming. But I liked it. And there were openings for a live Lelouch. I'll hold on to the them. The End. Unless we get an OVA that clears that up of course.

...I thought I'd have more than that to say, but I guess not. End note I suppose.

--

"So, have you got the money?" one drug dealer asked to another, putting the case of Refrain on top of the table. The other drug dealer nodded shakily, intimidated by the several armed men around him. He was truly in the big leagues for the first time.

Suddenly, the door to the warehouse exploded open before the younger man had a chance to reply. Weapons were trained on the cloud of smoke and dust obscuring the entrance. However, the men hesitated a second too long, as a red Knightmare Frame burst out of the obscuring cloud. Shooting at the men with its handheld assault rifle, slash harkens flailing around and amongst the men, the red Glasgow, piloted by Kozuki Karen, was causing mayhem and destruction.

Streaming through the new hole in the warehouse door were several men and women wearing identical black outfits, led by the masked revolutionary himself, Zero.

"Order of the Black Knights, attack!" Lelouch yelled from underneath his Zero mask. The Knights set to it with glee, opening fire on the drug dealers who were hiding from the marauding Glasgow. Said Glasgow was currently engaging a large group of dealers. One of them, crouched behind a huge container with an RPG for comfort, ducked out, preparing to fire at Karen's side. However, her superior vampiric reflexes allowed her to catch the potential threat, ducking and returning fire with her Glasgow's rifle, tearing the man apart (as well as the container next to him).

Lelouch was watching and laughing as all of this happened around him. One dealer ran up to him with a knife, screaming wildly, but the partition on the side of his mask slid open in time for Lelouch to give the man a fatal command.

"Die," Lelouch said, Geass taking effect as the man charged wildly, before stopping, saluting, and diving to the right. He was crunched underneath the Glasgow's landspinners as it flew past slid past, firing at a small cell of resistance, one of the few left. When all was said and done, the Black Knights had suffered no casualties.

"Very good!" Zero called out to his allies. "Start to escort the test subjects out now."

With shouts approval, the Black Knights leapt to it. However, both Lelouch and Karen turned to a seemingly unimportant wall just a second before a large, white Glasgow burst through it.

"Look out!"

"Knight Police?!"

"Run!"

The various members of the Black Knights called out to each other as they ran away from the Knightmare, which swerved straight towards Karen, who _jumped_ over it.

"Karen, get it out of here and destroy it quickly!" Lelouch called, Karen sounding her affirmative and turning to run. The Knight Police pulled out his anti-Knightmare knife before darting after her, knife in one hand and machine-pistol in the other. Karen turned and fired, but her left arm was blown off. Turning her back to her pursuer, Karen nearly had a heart attack when she noticed her own mother walk across her path.

"Karen, don't run across the road!" her mother chided gently, obviously under the effects of Refrain. Karen ducked low, avoiding a shot that would have killed her, discarding her rifle and scooping up her mother, all in the same movement. The Knight Police caught up with her due to the slight drop in momentum this manoeuvre cause, meaning that Karen was in the shit.

Pushing onwards, even as her left leg was slashed off with the anti-Knightmare knife, Karen slowly tumbled to the floor, making sure to stretch her remaining arm out in front of her, palm up. Kicking out with her left and only leg, she managed to smash one of the Knight Police's kneecaps, causing it to topple over as well. Purging her remaining leg whilst pressing the foot against the other Glasgow's chest cause her to essentially kick it very hard, crushing the cockpit as well as re-attaching her leg due to its proximity. For good measure, she did it again, irreparably damaging the leg, but also killing the other pilot. Finally breathing a sigh of relief, Karen opened her cockpit and leapt out to go and tend to her mother.

"Karen. My Karen, I'll always be with you. I'll always watch over you!" her mother cried, still under the effects of Refrain. Karen made the connection between her mother's recent behaviour and her current words, and broke down crying.

"You idiot! That's why you stay at that man's house!" Karen cried, openly weeping and hugging her mother.

Lelouch, still masked, stood some distance behind her, wanting to say something, but quite unable to figure out what.

**--**

A few days later, Kallen sat besides her mother's hospital bed, informing her of the sentence she had received. With tears in her eyes she promised to make the world a better place by the time she was released. She gave her mother's hand a squeeze before getting up and leaving the room. Lelouch waited in the hall.

"...Do you need some time off?"

Kallen shook her head and dried her eyes. "I'd just dwell on it. I need something to get this out of my mind for awhile."

Lelouch nodded and moved on to work. "Well I don't have much that will require your skill for the moment, though intelligence reports suggest I might have such a job very soon. Just go to school for now." He ordered.

Kallen wanted to protest, but her Pawn instincts forced her to give a nod of compliance. "Speaking of which, you were the former Vice President at Ashford right?"

Lelouch simply nodded, hiss face betraying no emotion.

"It's kind of cruel, what you are doing to them. That Shirley girl walks around looking like the world ended."

"Milly can take care of them." He said, still utterly emotionless. "You should just go home and don't concern yourself with that matter."

"First of all, that place is NOT my home. Secondly, how can you be so –"

"Then stay in the dorms. The issue has been dealt with Kallen. Don't concern yourself with it!" This time, it was clearly an order, and betrayed quite a bit of frustration and sadness on Lelouch's part.

Kallen was stunned for a moment then said, "Yes... master." She turned and ran off.

Lelouch sighed and vanished into a crowd of people.

--

Clovis La Britannia was being beating his head against his desk. This was becoming less a sign of frustration and more a hobby with each passing day. The primary goal/wishful thinking in this pastime was that he might wake up from what was, if there was a kind and merciful God, a nightmare without beginning our end. Instead, he merely suffered an immense headache and was forced to continue manipulating things for his vampire brother, or be beaten horribly by said brother's maid/ninja psychobitch.

"Of course he waits until Cornelia gets back to make me send the whole Purist Faction of somewhere! I should never have told him about that Narita operation (I also probably shouldn't have mentioned the reporter, but that was just a slip of the tongue), he just upped the shady rating of the crap he makes me do. Cornelia will get suspicious at this rate; I never would have interfered with the military while she was around normally! This will just go horribly wrong I just know it. Oh well, let's see where to send the Orange and his friends...

--

Zero stood before the Guren, speaking with Ougi and Kallen.

"So does this mean Kyoto trusts us now?" The vice commander wondered aloud.

"No, this is just a test." The masked man said. "At any rate, Kallen will be piloting it in our next operation. A little hiking trip to Narita" He tossed the Guren's key to the red haired girl. "Don't disappoint me miss Kozuki." He said in a rather condescending tone.

"As you like _Zero_." The girl practically spat out the last word.

Ougi watched this little spectacle with confusion.

Zero turned and walked off, reminding himself to look up the reporter Clovis had mentioned, Diethard.

--

A few days later:

Up on top of the mountain in the middle of the Narita region, which was currently a war-zone between the Britannian army and the Japanese Liberation Front's forces, Kallen readied her Fukushahado for use. Waiting for Zero's orders, she let her mind wander to the battle down below.

Cornelia and her forces had literally stormed through, with the amateurish, inexperienced JLF soldiers putting up little of a fight. Indeed, it was rather pathetic, akin to watching a man kicking a newborn puppy.

_'Lord, what fools these mortals be,'_ Kallen thought wryly, a quote from some old Britannian poet whom her father had made her study in preparation for school, long, long ago.

At that point, the order to move came through, and she clamped her Guren's right hand down on the Number 3 probe digging into the mountain. Activating the Fukushahado, she waited with bated breath for the result.

As the landslide began due to the shift in the water table, Kallen grinned, fully aware of the carnage she had just caused.

Zero gave the order to move forwards, and the Black Knights hopped to en masse. Rushing down the mountainside like angels of death, the Black Knights swarmed upon the remaining 20 per cent of the Britannian army that had survived, cutting them off.

As this was happening, Todo, the famed Japanese warrior who had performed miracles in the Second Pacific War, was leading himself and the Four Holy Blades around on the other side of the Britannians, cutting a bloody swathe through the army.

Kallen locked onto another target straight away after destroying her third, her vampiric reflexes allowing her to dart and weave between everything separating her and the unengaged Sutherland, before dodging its Slash Harkens and nuking it with her Fukushahado.

"See this, Britannia!? We're evening the playing field!" she cried across the open channel.

And all throughout the battle, Lelouch, unmasked in the safety of his Knightmare, smirked. His plan was working perfectly. As he watched, a Sutherland charged up to him, the pilot intent on taking him out, before Kallen cut in and took him out in a single strike, before rushing on; Lelouch couldn't help but marvel at how effective his pet was on the battlefield.

Finally managing to triangulate Cornelia's position, and finding it exactly as predicted, Lelouch gave Kallen the order to follow him before charging after said purple-haired monarch.

Across the battlefield, the Glaston Knights and Guilford, one of Cornelia's Royal Knights, had stayed behind to occupy Todo and the Four Holy Blades in order to give Cornelia a chance to escape. The battle had not gone in Britannia's favour, and so it was with great reluctance (because really, did she _want_ to run? Ever? From anything?) that Cornelia made good on her escape… only to be cut off by Kallen and Zero.

"Cornelia! So we meet again!" Lelouch called in his 'Zero voice'.

"Zero!" Cornelia snarled, dashing at him. Kallen moved to intercept in the Guren, blocking Cornelia's lance and then grabbing it. Charging her Fukushahado, she released a burst through the lance, causing Cornelia to purge her right arm in order to survive the attack. The left quickly followed, leaving Cornelia, armless but far from harmless. This _was_ Cornelia, after all.

"Damn it all!" she cursed, preparing to make her last stand. Suddenly, Suzaku in the Lancelot burst through the canyon wall, the Guren back-flipping neatly away from its MVS. The Maser Vibration Sword hummed as Suzaku spoke to Cornelia over the loudspeaker.

"Your Highness, I'm here to provide backup on Princess Euphemia's orders!" he stated confidently. Cornelia was dismayed that of all people, it had to be 'the Eleven' that saved her; although, she _was_ glad that her sister took the initiative, as it saved her life.

The Lancelot suddenly charged forwards in a sudden burst of movement.

"Kallen! Take care of Kururugi! I'll get Cornelia!" Zero yelled.

_'How does he know who I am?'_ Suzaku wondered. Nobody outside of the military was supposed to know about the Lancelot's pilot's identity. Shoving aside his shock for the moment, he focused on the bigger threat; the Guren was darting around his sword strikes as if it was specifically designed for it. Not only was the machine itself roughly on par with the Lancelot, but the pilot could very well be better than Suzaku. In that case, Suzaku would unknowingly be repeating Guilford's actions; holding off a stronger enemy to allow Cornelia to escape.

Kallen, for her part, was thrilled at the ease with which her reflexes allowed her to dodge. It was like this human was moving in slow motion! Ducking around another slash, she caught the backhanded follow-up with her right arm, channelling the Fukushahado along the MVS in an attempt to get Suzaku to do the same as Cornelia had done not five minutes ago. Alas, the Kururugi boy was a bit faster in letting go of his weapon, leaving himself with both arms. Kallen decided to try something daring. Moving backwards slightly, she charged forwards in a sudden burst of explosive movement, flipping over the Lancelot as it fired a couple of shots form the VARIS which it had just drawn. Spinning in the air, she landed facing the Lancelot and grabbed its right arm, destroying it with the Fukushahado before trying something that, had they not been in Knightmare Frames, would have won her the fight instantly. She drew back and kicked the Lancelot in the fork from behind. As it was, this rattled the cockpit enough to give Suzaku a minor concussion and effectively take him out of the Battle for Narita.

Just to be safe, she destroyed his right leg, too, before rushing after Lelouch.

Lelouch himself was in a bit of a bind. A stray RPG had literally demolished his Knightmare Frame, leaving him with enough time to eject and nothing more. Now he stood before Cornelia's Frame, itself nearing the end of its energy filler's lifetime, mask thankfully on.

"So, Zero?" Cornelia drawled. "This is the end, no? The last words of a terrorist are unimportant, so I'll just- what the?" The thing which had so stupefied both Cornelia and Lelouch was C.C., who had walked out onto the battlefield unarmed, before turning to face Cornelia's Gloucester.

"You shall not harm this man," she sated boldly, before walking forwards a few step and placing her hand on the base of Cornelia's Gloucester. Suddenly, Cornelia started to see… images. Images of her worst moments, her failure (or so she had decided) at the Aries Palace for example; images of her worst fears, Euphie's death predominant amongst them.

Lelouch walked forwards, addressing C.C. "Good work-" he started to say, but was cut off when he put his hand on C.C.'s shoulder.

"No! Not now!" she cried, as Lelouch himself was bombarded with images. Images of a church, the Geass sigil upon its exterior; a nun, the same mark upon her forehead; C.C., the mark cut into her left breast; C.C. being burnt alive, being shot, being stabbed, locked in an Iron Maiden, gassed, garrotted, hanged, drawn, quartered, suffocated, buried alive, drowned, poisoned, crushed, any number of other deaths, over and over again.

"Stop it," Lelouch whimpered.

"STOP IT!" Lelouch, C.C. and Cornelia all cried as one, before Cornelia flipped out. Chest-mounted guns firing everywhere, spraying huge, sharp chunks of earth and rock everywhere, Cornelia rampaged around the clearing. C.C. pushed Lelouch back, protecting him from the flying debris, and catching quite a few hits to the chest in the process. Finally, Cornelia's energy filler ran out, leaving her to shriek in isolation inside of her Knightmare Frame. C.C. also collapsed, dieing from the wounds to her chest. Zero vanished after this event, but was found shortly after by Kallen and the Black Knights in a nearby cave. He offered no explanation for the woman he was found with.

--

Hokkaido:

The Purist Faction struggled through a snow storm. "Keep moving men! Prince Clovis is counting on us!" Jeremiah said, and then sneezed.

--

Sorry if it's a bit sloppy, chapter 8 should flow a bit better, because I won't be trying to fit so many events in one chapter. Mostly the aftermath of Narita, Kyoto House, and maybe the start of the Mao arc.


	8. IMPORTANT NOTICE!

Just an author's note.

Alright people I'll make this as brief as I can. Since my last update I have faced 2 delays: my beta had some things on his plate the prevented him from getting what I needed from him AND I picked up a lot of stuff. Among these things are: Shinji and Warhammer 40k, Team 8, the Baka-Tsuki Harhuhi Novels translation (I'm almost done with Sighs), Mitadake High, Disgaea DS (my first real Nippon Ichi game! I've seen Disgaea 2 and Soul Nomad on youtube), the Gantz manga, some random english original visual novels, Tsuki-freaking-hime, Naruto Abridged, Gantz Abridged, driver's ed, MANY webcomics, and oh so many other things. This combined with my lazy bastardness stopped me from getting it done. HOWEVER the next chapter is almost done being written and edited. IF it is not done by the 10th (I'll even put off my incoming copy of FF7 until then) feel free to spam me with the message system with a garbled pile of angrily written L33t speak.

On another note, I had a plot bunny. I already handed it over to Lunatic Chaos, so if he sees fit to write it, a more well written and better updated version of *drum roll* SUZAKU THE COMBAT BUTLER! shall be yours. I probably won't write it anyway, I have enough on my hands as it is.

OH, and it was me who put up the Code Geass fan fic recs page on TV Tropes.

Also, if you want me to update more often you've got to give me some substantional feedback. As many other fan fic authors have said, nothing motivates like a well written review, even if it's a negative one. If it is negative, it should be contructive though.


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